Combined reversible wall furniture and door.



N. B. DOUGLASS. COMBINED REVERSIBLE WALL FURNITURE AND DOOR.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 4, 1910. r 1,006,068, 1 Patented Oct. 17, 1911.

2 SHEETS SHEBT 1. gm

N. B. DOUGLASS. COMBINED REVERSIBLE WALL FURNITURE AND DOOR.

APPLICATION FILED MAY*%, 1910.

1,006,068. Patented Oct. 17, 1911.

2 SHEETS-1135? 2.

ble all Furniture NAPOLEON B. noU'sLAss, or OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA.

COMBINED REVERSIBLE WALL IURNITURE AND DOOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 4, 1910. Serial No. 559,365.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NAPOLEON B. Douc- LABS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Oakland, in the county of Alameda and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Combined Reversifollowing is a specification.

y invention relates to living apartments, and pertains especially to a combined, reversible folding-bed and door.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a reversible structure designed to carry on one or both sides an article of furniturc capable of being turned into and out of a closet, and which structure can be turned in a minimum space; furthermore, which structure will serve as a door to give ingress and egress to the closet.

Another object is to provide a reversible structure of this sort which is capable of supporting the great weight usually put upon it, without sag or tendency to break down, and furthermore, to reduce cost of manufacture.

The invention consists of the parts and the construction and combination of parts as hereinafter more fully described and claim '1, having reference to the accompany ing drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of the reversible structure. Fig. 2 is a detail in plan of the reversible structure in closed position. Fig. 3 is a similar view with the panel reversed, or in open position. Fi 4 is a detail of an apartment, showing the structure applied as a door to give ingress and egress to the closet or to another room or apartment.

A is a panel swinging on vertical pivots and carrying on one side a bed 2 or other article of furniture or ornament, which latter is swung into or out of the closet 3, according as the panel A is turned on its ivots, in the manner hereinafter described, said panel A normally serving as a closure or door for the closet.

- The manner of mounting the panel A so as to turn and reverse it automatically in as limited a space as possible, constitutes the essential feature of the present invention. These means comprise a rigid truss-like frame or bracket made up of upper 'and lower arms 56 and the connecting bar or rod 7. The peculiarity of this frame made up of the parts 5-6-7 is that it is pivoted and Doors, of which the to the back of the door, or rather, the back of the door is pivotally hung on the bar 7 with the arms 5-6 between the two ends'ot the panel, the ends of the arms being pivoted to the door-frame or casing between the vertical center of the closet opening and the side of said opening, so that the panel A, on being reversed, swings around the su porting frame 5 6- 7, rather than insi e of said frame or bracket.

A panel with its bed 2 and counterweights may weigh several hundred pounds, and all the weight is carried on the arms 5-6. In fact, the principal weight is carried on the lower arm 6. Therefore, it is essential that the arms should at the same time, being pivoted to the back of the panel, rather than to the ends thereof, they must not interfere in any way with the vertical movements of the bed-frame 2. In practice, the lower frame member 6 is of I-beam section, and the rod 7 is about 11 inches in diameter. If the closet is fifty-eight inches across, the swinging panel i is substantially of the same width, while the arms 56 supporting the same are, in practice, about thirteen inches long; and the rod 7 to which placed centrally of pivots 8 and 9 of arms 5-6 are disposed about sixteen inches from one side of the door-frame, as represented in Fig. 2, and just behind the panel when the latter is in closed position with the bed 2 closet.

The pivot-pins 8 and 9, which constitute fixed centers of oscillation for the arms or bracket members 5 6, preferably seat in metal sockets 10. The lower arm 6 is inclined upwardly from the pivot to its point of'connection wit-h the rod' 7, so as to clear the floor. -Likewisethe arm 5 is positioned so as just to clear the top of the casing as the panel swings in and out of the closet opening.

The rod 7 is supported in suitable boxes 11-1213 on the panel, the lower pair of boxes 12-43 being arranged near together and forming a double bearing for the rod 7 on each side of the arm 6. This double bearing provided by the boxes 12 -131; important for the purpose of preventing the rod 7 from bending or warpin The bearing 12 is made especially heavy,iecause practically the whole weight of the panel and bed, or other article of suspended furniture, comes Patented Oct. 17, 1911.

be very strong, and

opening within the edge to retreat within to or bracket compos rod 15 passes beyond the on this bear-in 12 which rests directly upon the arm 6. I desired, antiiriction rollers 14 may be interposed between the bearingblock 1? and the top of the arnifi.

In order to efl'ect the automatic reversal of the panel A by a combined oplening and closing movement of the panel, "employ a link 15 which has one end pivoted to the closet sill, as shown at 16, about midway of the width of the door opening; the other.

end of the link being pivoted to the bottom edge of the panel to one side of the central pivot 7, as shown at 17. Manifestly the link 15 can be attached either to the bottom or top of the'panel; the pivot 16 forming a center of oscillation for the link. i

In operation, the paiil would normally stand in the plane of the closet opening, forming a closure for the same like an ordinary door, with the bed inside the closet, Fig. 2. The front or ex osed portion of the panel may be rovide with a mirror or any other attic e of furniture or ornament 18. When it is desired to use thebed or re verse the panel the same is turned on its pivot provided by the rod 7, arms 5-6 and pivots 89,. so as to carry oneedge of the panel out into the room, and cause the other the closet, as repre, 'sented by the arrow p, time the link 15 acts simultaneously as a radiusrod to draw in that side of the panel to which pivot 17 is nearest, and ,then as the plane at right anglee to the closet opening, to push this same edge of the panel outward again until the anel and bed stand in reverse positions, ig. 3; the panel be glswung through an arc of 180, and with t o bed now exposed to the room. During this reversal of the panel, the latter is swung around the frame 5-'-6-7 until it stands behind the frame. That is to say, as shown in Fig. 2, the anel A, when the bed is in the closet, is in rent of the arms 56 and rod 7, and when the panel is reversed, with the bed outside the closet, the arms 5-6 and rod '7 are in front of the panel, as shown in Fig. 3; yet

inthese reversing movements the link 5- al-,

we 5 remains concealed behind the anel. ThlS manner of han ing the door in a rame of the relatively short arms 5 -6 androd 7 enables the panel to be made the full .length of the door or closet opening and these short arms can be, and

are, made so strong that they will support the panel and any reasonable weight which may be put upon it,without any need of crane'about which the panel swings.

supportin casters or the like on the panel onlinks'. n fact, these arms 56 and their connectingfrod 7, 'or'equivalent, act is a ur thermore, the panel can swing and reverse in a minimum depth of receiving space. Utilization is made of this method of hang- Fig. 2. At the. same ing a bed and reversing a panel for providing ingress and egress rom a closet or room or other apartment, in the wall of which this device may be hung. Thus, for instance, as shown in Fig. 4, this panel A is hung on the frame represented therein by the reference numeral 6 (but which frame, it is understood, includes the twoarms 5-6 and rod 7 previously described) and reversing link 15. This panel swings in the opening 3 which connects two rooms, as 19 and 20, room 20 being an ordinary closet, or it may be a hallway or other room communicating with other apartments. 1100111720 may have another door entering into it, as shown at 21. Thus it will be seen that the closet or room 20 may be entered from the room 19 by swinging the panel A as-a door'on its pivots provided by the arm 6 and link 15, or room 20 may be entered through the door 21. In either event a person is permitted to enter the closet, or have access to' the bed or. the space in behind the bed when the bed is in the closet.

The advantage of this construction is manifest, especially in apartment houses where economy of space s of prime importance, and especially where the cuttin of a doorway into a room may not afior space wherein to hang a wall-bed, and vice versa.

In my present arrangement the wall-bed and door can be combined and made to occu y an opening only a little larger than an orr inary doorway.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Pat- 1. The combination with a wall having a closet space, of a frame'having' a fixe point of oscillation about a vertical pivot which is located a substantial distance from the side wall of said space, abed-carrying panel adapted to close the entrance to said closet space, saidpanel having vertical pivots on said frame, and a link pivoted to the panel and having a fixed oint of oscillation for automatically reversing the panel by turnin the frame.

2. T ie comb nation with a wall having a closet space, of a door adapted as a closure for said space, said door being vertically pivoted at its center, a carrying frame to I which the door is pivoted, said frame having horizontal supporting arms of less length than half the width of the door and pivoted to one side of the plane of the door to a: xed support, and around which frame said oor is adapted to swing through an arc of 180 from a position in front of said pivots to a position in the rear of said pivots.

3. The combination with a wall having a' closet space, of a door adapted as a closure for said space, said, door being vertically pivoted 'atits center, a carrying frame, to

which the door is pivoted, said frame having closet space,

horizontal supporting arms of less length than half the width of the. door and pivoted to oiie side of the plane of the door to a fixed support, and,ar0uiid which frame said door is adapted to swing, while sustained in front of the closet entrance, through an arc of 180 from a position in frontof said pivots to a position in rear of said pivots, and a link pivoted to the door and coacting with said frame and acting to automatically reverse the door by the swinging of the frame.

4. The combination with a wallhaving a closet space, of a panel adapted as a closure for said space, and a supporting bracket for the panel, said bracket including an arm pivoted to one side of the panel and adjacent tothe center thereof, the other end of the arm having a fixed point of oscillation exterior to the edge of the panel, means eoacting with said arm to support the entire weight of the panel thereon and maintain the panel vertical in front of the closet space, and means coacting with the panel automatically to reverse the panel by the swinging of the bracket.

5. The combination with a wall having a of a panel adapted as a closure for said space, and a supporting bracket for the panel, said bracket including an arm pivoted to one side of the panel and adja cent to the center thereof, the other end of the arm having a fixed point of oscillation exterior -to the edge of the panel, means coa-cting with said arm to support the entire weight of the panel thereon and maintain the panel vertical in front of the closet space, and a link pivoted to the panel be tween its edge and center and having a fixed point of oscillation.

i. The combination with a wall having a closet or like opening, of a bracket hinged at the top and bottom of the opening and between the sides thereof and at a substantial distance from said sides, a panel pivotally supported on said bracket and reversible about the bracket through an arc of 180", said panel serving as a closure for the closet space, and means to automatically re verse the panel by swinging the bracket.

7. The combination with a wall having a closet or like opening, of a panel, a vertical rod pivoted to the back of the panel, rigid arms on the opposite ends of the rod and between the ends of the panel, the other ends of said arms having a fixed center of oscillation about which the arms may swing to carry the panel around said center, an artiele of furniture or ornament carried on one side of the panel and means co-acting with the panel to reverse the latter as it swings about the pivot of said arms.

8. The combination with a wall having a closet space, of a panel adapted as a closure for said space, a vertical rod pivoted to the back of the panel, rigid arms on the rod and between the ends of the panel, the other ends of said arms having a fixed center of oscillation about which the arms may swing to carry the panel around said center, an article of furniture or ornament carried. on one side of the panel, and a link pivoted to the panel between its edge and center and having a fixed point of oscillation.

9. The combination with a wall having a closet space. of a panel adapted as a closure ,"or said space, a vertical rod pivoted to the back of the panel, rigid arms on the rod and between the ends of the panel, the other ends of said arms having a fixed center of oscillation about which the arms may swing to carry the panel around said center, an article of furniture or ornament carried on one side of the panel, jonrnahboxcs on the panel in which said rod turns, one of said arms arranged between a pair of said journal-boxes and on which the topmost box of said pair bears and supports the weight of the panel, and means coacting with the panel to reverse the latter as it swings about the pivot of said arms.

10. The con'ibination of a frame pivoted to turn about vertical pivots, a panel pivoted to one edge of the frame and adapted to swing from side to article of furniture or ornament carried on one side of the panel and a link having a fixed piv t of oscillation and pivoted to the panel between the the latter for auton'iatically reversing the panel when the frame is oscillated on its pivots.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

NAPOLEON B. DOUGLASS.

\Vitnesses Commas A. PaNmnLn, CHARLES EDELMAN.

side of said frame, an

center and side edge of 

